# vernus
## Latin
### Etymology

Ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *wósr̥ "spring" (also reconstructed alternatively as *wésr̥ or *wḗsr̥), the root of Latin vēr "spring". The details of the derivation differ between sources. Vernus could be the reflex of a deadverbial adjective in -*no- built on a locative form of the *wósr̥/*wésr̥/*wḗsr̥ noun. Piotr Gąsiorowski (2012) presents the following derivation from the PIE locative stem *wesri where the final Latin form vernus results from haplology or syncope of *er: *wesri-no- > *wezr̥₂no- > *wererno- > vernus. In the case of a locative formation, vernus could instead come from a form vēri-no (with syncope of *i) (Alan Nussbaum, cited in de Vaan, 2008). As an alternative to the locative derivation, de Vaan suggests that the word could come from *wesinos (with rhotacism of *s and syncope of *i). By surface analysis, vēr +‎ -nus.

### Pronunciation

* (Classical Latin) IPA: /ˈu̯eːr.nus/, [ˈu̯eːrnʊs̠] or IPA: /ˈu̯er.nus/, [ˈu̯ɛrnʊs̠]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /ˈver.nus/, [ˈvɛrnus]
There seems to be no definite evidence of the length of the vowel in the first syllable in Classical Latin. Some etymologies imply an originally short vowel; furthermore, it is hypothesized that at certain points in time, an originally long vowel in Latin was subject to shortening (called Osthoff's Law) before any consonant cluster starting with a resonant. On the other hand, some sources give the pronunciation of this word as vērnus because of the long vowel in the related noun vēr; it is plausible that analogical pressure from the noun could have resulted in the adjective having a long vowel in Classical Latin, even if a short vowel would be expected as the outcome of regular phonetic changes. (Compare the lack of Osthoff's Law–shortening in fūrtum (“theft”) from fūr (“thief”).)

### Adjective

vē̆rnus (feminine vē̆rna, neuter vē̆rnum); first/second-declension adjective
* (relational) spring; vernal

#### Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

#### Derived terms

* vē̆rnō

#### Related terms

* vēr
* vē̆rnālis

### References

* ↑ Gąsiorowski, Piotr (2012) “The Germanic reflexes of PIE *-sr- in the context of Verner's Law”, in The Sound of Indo-European: Phonetics, Phonemics, and Morphophonemics‎, Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press, →DOI, →ISSN, pages 117-129
* ↑ De Vaan, Michiel (2008) Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7)‎, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN
* ↑ Ollie Sayeed (2017 January 1) “Osthoff’s Law in Latin”, in Indo-European Linguistics‎, volume 5, number 1, Brill, →ISSN, page 157 of 147–177
* ↑ Charles E. Bennett (1907) “Hidden Quantity”, in The Latin Language – a historical outline of its sounds, inflections, and syntax, Boston: Allyn and Bacon, page 55

### Further reading

* “vernus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “vernus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
* vernus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
* vernus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
* Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co. the charms of spring: suavitas verni temporis (ambiguous) in spring, summer, autumn, winter time: verno, aestivo, auctumnali, hiberno tempore

### Anagrams

* nervus